Meet The Wealthy Fundraisers Who Saved Obama's Campaign This Summer

A “bundler” is a special person to a campaign. They’re a wealthy person who is friends with many other wealthy people, fundraising for a candidate and convincing people to give to the campaign. Bush called them “Rangers” and “Pioneers.” Romney has Olympic-inspired “Gold,” “Silver” and “Bronze” titles for his bundlers (although he has refused to release their names). Obama just calls his “volunteer fundraisers,” and the list includes a wide array of CEOs, financiers, and entertainers.

Lynton joined the 2012 list of bundlers for the first time this summer, raising between $100,000 and $200,000 for President Obama.

Gwen Stefani

The superstar became an Obama bundler for the first time this summer, joining the elite ranks of fundraisers who have pulled in more than $500,000 for the president's campaign.

Former Republican Governor of Florida Charlie Crist

Crist, the former Republican governor of Florida who lost his 2010 Senate bid to Tea Party favourite Marco Rubio, is the Democrats' favourite turncoat in 2012. Crist has been hitting the campaign trail since his speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte last month, and also joined the president's bundler list, raising $100,000 to $200,000 for the campaign.

BET Networks CEO Debra Lee

Another 2008 bundler, Lee, the chairman and CEO of Black Entertainment Television Networks, returned to the fold this summer, raising between $50,000 and $100,000 for the Obama re-election effort in the third quarter of 2012.

Blackstone COO Tony James

A 2008 Obama bundler, James has served on Obama's White House Export Council and his name is being tossed around as a possible replacement for Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. He became a bundler again in the third quarter, and has raised more than $500,000 for the president so far.

David and Rhonda Cohen

David Cohen is an executive vice president of Comcast, heading up corporate communications, government affairs, and corporate administration.

Previously, Cohen served as chief of staff to Ed Rendell when he was mayor of Philadelphia. Rendell, who went on to serve as governor of Pennsylvania, is a major Obama surrogate in the 2012 election.

David and his wife Rhonda became Obama bundlers for the first time this summer, joining the top tier of bundlers who have raised $500,000 or more for the campaign.

Harvey Weinstein

A Hollywood mega-producer whose titles include the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy and Quentin Tarantino's 'Pulp Fiction,' Weinstein became an Obama bundler for the first time this summer, raising upwards of half of a million dollars for the president's re-election campaign.

Lisa and Doug Goldman, heirs to the Levi Strauss fortune

Douglas Goldman is the son of Richard and Rhoda Goldman, the heirs to the Levi Strauss fortune. He and his wife Lisa run the Lisa & Douglas Goldman Foundation, a charity that gives grants to civil liberties, education, environmental and Jewish causes.

The couple became bundlers for Obama this summer, getting friends to give more than $500,000 to his re-election effort.

D.C. attorney Keith M. Harper

Harper, an attorney who specialises in litigation and Native American law at the D.C. firm Kilpatrick Townsend, joined Obama's bundler list for the first time, bringing in at least $500,000 for the campaign.

Trial lawyers like Harper are some of the president's biggest fundraisers this election cycle.

Construction magnate Robert Meyerhoff

Robert Meyerhoff, who made his fortune founding the Henderson-Webb construction firm, became an Obama bundler for the first time this summer, and has brought in at least $500,000 for the re-election bid.

Hedge funder David E. Shaw

Shaw, a computer scientist and biochemist, is the founder of the hedge fund D.E. Shaw & Co., and has been appointed to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology by both Presidents Clinton and Obama.

He became an Obama bundler for the first time last quarter, and has raised between $200,000 and $500,000.

Clayco CEO Bob Clark

Clark, an entrepreneur who runs the full-service construction firm Clayco, is another 2008 Obama bundler who benefited from his work, with an appointment to the Committee for the Preservation of the White House during Obama's first term.

Clark rejoined Obama's top tier of bundlers this summer, raising at least $500,000 for the campaign.